Sam Maxwell will have 12 varsity letters when her scholastic career is over and the Buena Regional High School senior is making No. 12 count.

Maxwell is the lone senior on the Chiefs’ roster, and not only has she embraced the leadership role thrust upon her, but she’s thrived on the field. She’s hitting .420 with 21 hits while patrolling center field for Buena (14-5).

“I’ve gotten a lot more confidence over the years,” Maxwell said. “In the beginning, I didn’t start and I wasn’t all that confident, but this year especially, I had to get my confidence up. I think it’s been a good year so far, and I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Maxwell played right field each of the previous two seasons, but moved to center for her senior campaign.

“Right field is just a totally different angle off the bat,” Maxwell said. “I actually like center field a lot. I like the view and being able to get to whatever I can get to.”

According to Buena coach Pam Pickett, Maxwell, and the team, haven’t missed a beat.

“Defensively, she’s been stellar,” Pickett said. “She’s doing all the things she needs to do.”

One of the things she needed to do was become a leader. As the only senior, she didn’t have much choice but to be a role model, but that hasn’t slowed her down.

“She’s our woman in charge,” Pickett said.

Adjusting to a leadership role has been easy for Maxwell, mainly because of the close bond of the entire team.

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“Even though I’m the only senior and a captain, the girls on my team don’t make me feel like I am,” Maxwell said. “They don’t make me feel like I’m alone in leading anything. We all just kind of have that bond and lead each other. I don’t feel like I’m the only senior.”

Maxwell, who plans on attending Rowan University in the fall, also stood out in field hockey and softball as a true three-sport athlete for the duration of her career at Buena.

A steady pace

Shuffled deep into a Vineland lineup replete with big-name hitters, Emma Barbara’s strong season has flown a bit under the radar.

The sophomore hitting from the No. 7 spot in the lineup, owns a .489 batting average with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored. She also drove home the only run in a 1-0 win over Absegami Friday.

Barbera didn’t record a hit in Tuesday’s 10-3 win over Cumberland but that was just the third hitless contest this season for the Fighting Clan's center fielder.

“She’s been a big contributor for us,” Vineland coach Eric Burger said. “Going into the season, we knew we needed somebody in the outfield that was going to be able to hit. We gave Emma a shot and she has not let us down.”

Barbera played varsity as a freshman, but complied just 27 at bats (four hits) while holding a predominantly pinch-runner role. Such a big step forward wasn’t completely unexpected though.

“Compared to last year, it was a surprise, but I felt she had something,” Burger said. “(During a pre-season tournament) in Florida, we put her in the outfield to see what she had. Seeing her in Florida showed us what she could do.”

Vineland improved to 15-1 with the win over the Colts. The lone blemish on the record is a 9-6 loss to Wildwood Catholic, in which Barbera drove in a pair of runs.

Battle tested

Millville has earned its 17-2 record the hard way, facing some of the best teams in South Jersey. So far, two losses to county rival Vineland are the only hiccups.

On Saturday, Millville topped Delsea, 2-1, to win the Hammonton Invitational. The Crusaders fell to 16-3 with the loss. For the Thunderbolts, it was the 11th game this season against a team currently with 10 or more wins. Of those, six games have come against teams with 14 or more wins.

Offensive explosion

The bats have come alive for Bridgeton, which has now won four of its last five games. The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 63-26 over those five contests.

A loss to Atlantic City is sandwiched between victories over LEAP Academy (19-9), Holy Spirit (18-14), Camden Charter (11-1) and Cumberland Christian (15-1).